Saving Christmas
by carameltootsieroll
Summary: It's Christmas time, but the air around Percy and Annabeth doesn't seem to be in the least bit, jolly. For one thing, Annabeth is buried under an avalanche of responsibilities, while Percy seems to have been hit by winter flu. Will the couple allow Fate to ruin their first Christmas together, or will they still be able to save their Christmas? sick!fic
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everyone! 'Tis the season to be jolly! Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas demigods! Here's a short Percabeth fanfic on the holiday season! Nothing too serious in this fic, just plain Percabeth and fluff and Christmas! Hope you all enjoy!**

Admittedly, there were some downfalls to being Olympus' head architect, one of them being the fact that Annabeth had to report for duty on _Christmas Eve_.

_Christmas Eve, _Annabeth thought. _Seriously now, why do I have to oversee construction on Christmas Eve?_

Not that she was complaining, of course. It was an honor to be chosen by Zeus himself. But being asked to come on such a holiday was beyond her. She should be enjoying the snow with her Camp friends, sipping hot chocolate or ice-skating on the frozen lake. She should be making snow angels with her boyfriend, Percy Jackson.

At the thought of him, Annabeth turned to face her boyfriend, who had been patiently standing by her side for the past couple of minutes that they were in Olympus. He had the posture of the hopelessly bored: hands stuck in the pockets of his hoodie, mouth drawn into a thin line, gaze set faraway. "Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said. "I swear, this will be over really quickly."

Percy shrugged it off and smiled, crinkles forming around his sea green eyes. "I don't mind, Wise Girl."

Annabeth bit her lip. Of course he would say that – that he didn't mind waiting for her. But this was going to be there first Christmas as a couple; of course he didn't want to waste it on Annabeth's architect duties.

"I think we're all good here, Ms. Chase," Agathodaemon finally announced. He nodded at the wind spirits who were working on the renovation of Apollo's statue. "The statue is going as you want it, I presume?"

Annabeth suppressed a sigh of relief. Despite all the pressure she felt, she knew she still had to keep her professional composure. "Yes it is, Agathodaemon. I'll be back in two days' time to check on more progress," she said.

The minor spirit god nodded his head in reply. "Thank you Ms. Chase. Olympus is gladly in-debt to you." Agathodaemon's image rippled just before dissolving into the air.

"Yes! Thank the gods!" Annabeth exclaimed, grabbing Percy's hand as she led him back towards the elevators that would take them down 600 floors. "Our work here is done for today."

Percy scratched his head. "I still don't get that dude's name. Agotha - , Agathdo - , Ago – wha?"

"Agathodaemon,"Annabeth said, trying hard not to laugh. They stepped into the elevator with Percy still struggling with the god's name.

"You know what? Forget it," Percy muttered, finally giving up. He leaned playfully against Annabeth, warmth seeping out from his jacket. "So, back to Camp it is?"

Annabeth shook her head. "Actually, I have a surprise for you."

Percy's eyebrows furrowed. "A surprise? Wasn't this business trip to Olympus enough of a surprise already?"

Between the funky elevator music that was playing (it sounded like something from the 70's) and the detectable annoyance in Percy's voice, Annabeth sensed awkward tension in the air. She cleared her throat as they reached the ground floor and led the way out into the lobby. Their shoes clanked loudly against the marble flooring of the Empire State's lobby as they walked out to Fifth Avenue. "Fine. A _fun_ surprise this time," Annabeth said, trying to keep her voice calm as she watched Percy carefully.

Something seemed off about him today.

"Fun," Percy repeated monotonously. Annabeth glanced up at him, noting the lack of enthusiasm in her boyfriend's voice.

"You okay, Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth asked. She felt a guilty pit form in her stomach. She had been the one, after all, to drag him over to Olympus after he had just finished teaching a two-hour sword class. He had willingly agreed though, despite looking ready to collapse. Maybe Annabeth shouldn't have brought him over to tag-along when it was pretty clear that he was tired enough? Gods, she felt horrible now.

"Never felt better," Percy replied. He raised an eyebrow at her and gave her an amused grin. "Why did you ask?"

Annabeth shrugged, but she felt her chest loosen with relief. _Okay, he's okay._

"I think I should be asking you that question," Percy said, interrupting her thoughts. "You're shivering like a mad hellhound." He shrugged his jacket off and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"All hellhounds are mad," Annabeth laughed. Percy's jacket smelled of sea and salt, and she wrapped the thick material tighter around herself. It wasn't exactly the chilliest of Christmas Eves, but it was still well below 0 degrees Celsius. Annabeth was thankful for Percy's jacket around her shoulders.

"Hey, Mrs. O'Leary isn't mad," Percy protested. He was smiling now, though Annabeth could still read a bit of exhaustion behind his sea green eyes. "So, what can I expect from this _fun _surprise?"

"Oh right," Annabeth murmured as they continued down the street. "Well, I was thinking that maybe we just need a break from all the monster-fighting and intense training at Camp, that we need something fun and different to do."

Percy pulled on his hood so that only a part of his face could be seen from where Annabeth stood beside him. "Yeah?" he urged her to finish. "Does this surprise contain hot chocolate? Because I am dying for a cup of hot cocoa right now."

Annabeth pursed her lips as she noticed her boyfriend try to hide a shiver. His face was pale, save for his cheeks which were splotchy red. "Well, someone's trying to be heroic by giving his jacket when he's about to die of frostbite," she said and made a move to return his jacket.

Percy held a hand out before she could turn his jacket back over to him. "I'm not being heroic. I just want to keep you warm, that's all."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Gods, you're so annoying sometimes, Percy."

"So, about this surprise. Does it, or does it not include hot chocolate?"

Annabeth pursed her lips. "Well, we could have hot chocolate after," she suggested. "Because actually, I was planning to take you ice skating, Seaweed Brain."

**A/N: See? Wasn't that just full of nonsense and fluff? Tell me what you think of this chapter, and what you think will happen in the next chapters! Read and review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much for everyone who followed this story and added it to their favorites list! Without further ado, here is the second chapter!**

It was Christmas Eve, and yet presents, candy canes, and hot chocolate were the last things on Percy's mind. He was tired…no, _exhausted_. His head was pounding and his limbs felt like molten lead. Not to mention, the seemingly eternal itch in his nose, like he was a time-bomb awaiting his atomic-sized sneeze. The bottom-line, all Percy really wanted for Christmas was to climb into his soft, warm bed in his mom's apartment.

_Just a few more hours, _he thought to himself. He didn't even know why he felt so unusually worn-out. He hadn't actually done much today, besides teach sword-fighting. But that had been it.

Well, whatever. Just a few more hours. He had survived the earlier part of the afternoon, teaching the sword-fighting class. Now all he had to do was survive ice skating with Annabeth.

Not that it'd be hard to survive a date with Annabeth, of course. Being with Annabeth was never difficult, even if she had once promised that she would "never, ever make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain."

Yeah, he'd probably survive this ice skating date.

Probably.

Possibly.

Plausibly.

Or he could just collapse on the ice and die of exhaustion. That was another option.

They arrived at the rink a few minutes later. It was an Olympic-sized, outdoor rink surrounded by cotton candy stalls and noisy, little kids who couldn't seem to calm their Christmas excitement. Percy hardly remembered ever visiting this place, despite it being in the vicinity of his mom's apartment. Perhaps it was because even his own mom preferred the liquid form of water to the frozen, solid one?

Annabeth led him towards the rental booth, which was a wooden shack on the edge of the rink. "Two pairs of skates, please," Annabeth told the lady behind the counter. The lady had her back turned to them, but spun around as soon as Annabeth called.

"Ah yes, of course. Another couple going skating on Christmas Eve. I've counted so many, you know," the lady mused. She had the voice of an old lady, which Percy didn't exactly find fitting for her wrinkle-free face and big, green eyes. Her fiery red hair was tied in a messy bun, a few wisps sticking out. She looked pretty much like the average store clerk, save for her sharp teeth and forked tongue.

Wait, forked tongue?

"Here you go," the lady said, handing two pairs of worn-out, blue skates to Annabeth. "Enjoy your date!"

"Our _date_," Annabeth murmured from beside Percy. But when Percy glanced over at her, he saw that her cheeks had gone bright pink.

Percy's head had began to pound with pain again, but he remembered Annabeth's excitement over spending Christmas Eve together, and he decided to try and keep a smile on his face too.

_I'm gonna survive this date for Annabeth. I'm gonna survive this date for Annabeth._

"Here are your skates, and here are mine," Annabeth announced, settling onto a bench. She started kicking off her navy blue Converse sneakers. "Have you ever skated before, Seaweed Brain?"

Percy's vision suddenly began to swim. Annabeth's voice seemed to be coming from underwater, echoing and thick. He shut his eyes tight, trying to regain his sense of balance.

"Percy? Hey, earth to Seaweed Brain?" Annabeth's gloved hand on his arm brought him back to reality. Percy blinked and found Annabeth staring worriedly at him. She gave a nervous chuckle, but it wasn't enough to mask the concern in her voice when she asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," he lied. He most definitely was _not _fine, in fact. He could feel a storm brewing in his stomach, churning his lunch into a tornado. But he couldn't explain _that_ to Annabeth. She would rush him straight home, which Percy would actually like, but Annabeth probably wouldn't be happy with. _I'm gonna survive this date for Annabeth. I'm gonna survive this date for Annabeth_.

Annabeth pursed her lips, still looking skeptical. "Well, if you say so – "

Percy grabbed her and pulled her on to the ice before she could even finish her sentence.

It was _way_ more slippery than Percy expected. The second his skates touched the ice, he slid backwards and landed on his butt. Annabeth, who had been holding onto him, screamed and landed on top of him.

"We could definitely use some practice," Annabeth said, attempting to get up but failing miserably. She fell back on him, her hair on his face.

Percy set his hands on the ice, feeling the cold seep in through his cotton gloves. "And to think that this is technically _water,_" he mused, getting up. "Wonder if I could control frozen water, eh?" He pulled Annabeth up, trying his best to steady both of them.

Annabeth laughed and gripped his hands. "I don't actually want to know, Seaweed Brain," she said, and began skating backwards, pulling Percy along. Her hair blonde hair flew loose in-front of her face; gods, sometimes Percy wondered how he even managed to snag such a beautiful girl as his girlfriend.

He tried to enjoy everything as they made a full-circle around the rink: the kids still playing by the rink, another couple attempting to skate, the sound of Christmas Carols in the air, the evil rental lady flicking her forked tongue at Percy.

Wait. What in Hades?

Percy stopped abruptly, falling over on his toe pick and letting go of Annabeth. He stumbled and fell face-first on the ice rather ungracefully. "Ow," he groaned, starting to sit up. His nose stung from the cold and the impact.

"Percy!" Annabeth called, skating over to him. "Why did you let go all of a sudden?"

"I thought I saw that lady at the rental booth with a forked tongue," Percy said.

Annabeth made a face somewhere between amused and confused. She drew her gloves off her right hand and touched his forehead. "I think you fell pretty hard, Percy. I'm sure there are no forked-tongued ladies out to get us here. Did you get a bump when you fell down or," she paused and frowned. "Percy…you're burning up."

"I know. I'm your super-hot boyfriend," Percy muttered, trying to keep things casual. Burning up? Did he really have a fever? Because if he did, then that explained a lot as to why he was feeling so weak and off today.

"Are you feeling sick or something?" Annabeth asked, as if reading his thoughts. Percy caught the tightness in her voice, as if she was trying her best to sound like a trained doctor. "Because you seem to be running a fever."

Then, as if on cue – "AAAA-aaa-CHOOOO!" Percy sniffled. There was his big atomic explosion sneeze.

Annabeth blinked. "I knew it," she muttered, standing up and huffing.

"Knew what?" Percy groaned.

"You've been acting weird this entire afternoon," Annabeth explained. "You were sick the whole time and you didn't even tell me!"

Annabeth helped him up. "Hey, I didn't even know that I had a fever," Percy protested. "I was just… feeling kinda nauseous, but I didn't think it was important to tell you."

Percy thought he saw Annabeth roll her eyes. "Come on, I'm bringing you to your mom's. She'll know what to do."

**A/N: Oh no! Percy's sick on Christmas Eve awww Do you think Annabeth's pissed at Percy for getting sick on their date night? And what about the mysterious lady at the rental booth? Was she just a product of Percy's fevered hallucinations or….**

**Hehehe please click that review button and tell me what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Here's the third chapter! Wow, it's amazing what Christmas break can do to my writing schedule hehe this is the second time I've updated this same story in a day! **

**A huge bunch of thanks to everyone who followed/favorited! Mwahh I love you all!**

If she had just stuck to the road and not listened to Percy, then they wouldn't have been attacked by the drakon.

But no, she just had to give in to Seaweed Brain's request.

"Percy, you don't owe me Starbucks," Annabeth murmured. She had returned Percy's jacket back to him and even bundled her pink scarf around his neck for added protection (it took a lot of convincing to get Percy to wear something pink). "And no, I honestly don't mind that you ruined this night for both of us."

She wasn't being sarcastic. She just wanted to take Percy back to his mom's apartment, to bury him under a mountain of blankets so he would stop shivering. She honestly didn't mind that they had to cut their date night short; she just wanted what was best for her boyfriend. Who knew, maybe Sally would even bake her some chocolate chip cookies and ask her to stay the night. It was Christmas Eve afterall.

"I just feel bad that I'm forcing us both to head home. It's Christmas Eve, we're supposed to be enjoying," Percy countered. In the twilight, Annabeth could see the dark circles under his sea green eyes. His face looked sickly pale, save for his cheeks, which were bright red probably from fever. "Come on, last stop before we head back to the apartment. Just let me buy you hot chocolate, please?"

Annabeth bit her lip. She would never understand boys. "Fine. But after this, we go straight to your mom's, okay? I don't want you getting any sicker."

They walked in Starbucks, which was just a block away from the rink. Thank the gods, it was probably two degrees warmer inside the coffee shop. Annabeth's fingers had already started to go numb from the cold outside. She could only imagine how much worse Percy was feeling.

Annabeth chose a table by a cozy corner. A glass window opened out to the frosty street, and there were a stack of books on the coffee table. She glanced out the window, admiring the light snowfall outside. People passed by; some couples, a family, a man and his kid sitting on his shoulders, a lady with sharp teeth.

Wait. What the Hades?

It was the same lady from the rental booth, her fiery red hair standing out against the bleary black, gray, and white background. She seemed to have spot Annabeth from the window too, as she grinned at her, flashing her pearly-white, unusually-sharp teeth. Annabeth grinned weakly and sank back in the couch, her heart thumping loudly against her chest.

"Hey, I got our hot chocolate," Percy said, startling Annabeth out of her thoughts.

"Oh, oh… yeah, thanks," Annabeth stammered. She urged her hands to stop shaking as she laced her fingers around her warm mug. Maybe she was just seeing things.

"Finally, hot choco – aaaaaAAAACHOOO!"

"Bless you," Annabeth said, stifling a laugh as she handed her boyfriend some tissue.

"Gods of Olympus, curse this cold," Percy muttered, rubbing his nose. His cheeks had turned red again, along with his nose, and Annabeth reached over the table to feel his forehead.

His skin was blistering warm under her bare hand. Not a good sign. "Straight home after this, okay?" she told him sternly.

Percy coughed into his sleeve. "I don't think I'm gonna argue with that," he croaked, before breaking into another coughing fit.

Annabeth winced. She hated seeing her boyfriend so sick. "You seemed fine yesterday," she muttered. "When did you start feeling bad?"

"This morning," Percy said in-between coughs. He was about to open his mouth to talk again but Annabeth shook her head and pushed his mug of hot chocolate towards him. He took a long sip.

"You should have told me you weren't feeling well, you know? Then I wouldn't have asked you to come with me to Olym – "

Percy made a sudden gagging noise and choked on his hot chocolate, spilling some over himself as he set the steaming mug down on the table. "Did you see that?" he asked, his eyes big.

"See what?" Annabeth raised an eyebrow. She had a scary feeling, though, that she knew exactly what, or rather _who_, Percy was talking about.

"That lady from the rental shop," Percy said, almost breathless. He drew his gaze back to Annabeth, his seagreen eyes boring into hers. "She's outside the window – wait, don't look. She'll know we're talking about her if you look now."

Annabeth's heart began to thump wildly in her chest again. She shouldn't be scared, and yet her veins were suddenly aflame with adrenaline. "I don't think she's just a normal mortal, Percy."

"See? Now you believe me," Percy hissed. His grip was tight around his mug, knuckles white.

"I do. She grinned at me earlier while you were ordering our drinks," Annabeth admitted. She didn't turn her head to look, but from the corner of her eyes, she could see that outside, the sky had already started to darken. The only sources of light outside were the Christmas lights that lined the roads, streetlamps, and light from the shops.

"She what?" Percy exclaimed. His voice cracked and he broke into another coughing fit. "She _grinned_ at you? In a nice way, or in a creepy way?"

"Obviously in a creepy way!" Annabeth replied. If the situation weren't so dire, if there were no possibilities that the crazy lady was a monster, Annabeth would have laughed at the stupidity of Percy's question.

Percy shook his head. "We've got to get out of here, now." He stood up, leaving his half-emptied cup of hot chocolate.

Annabeth wasn't even sure if whatever that lady was, was a monster, but she stood up too and they made their way to the door.

They were almost out the shop when suddenly, out of nowhere, the sharp-toothed, fork-tongued lady showed up right in-front of them. Annabeth resisted the urge to scream, digging her nails into her palms instead.

"Well, well, if it isn't the cute couple again," she purred. Annabeth gulped. How hadn't she noticed those sharp teeth or that forked tongue earlier? She looked over at Percy, who had turned a sickly shade of green.

The lady stood right in-front of them, practically blocking their only way out of the shop.

"Excuse me, we need to pass," Annabeth said, trying her best to keep her voice level.

The lady's eyes turned bloodred, like rubies were stuck to her face instead of eyeballs. "No one's leaving, honey. No one's gonna pass through me."

"Let us go," Percy ordered.

Then the lady did something Annabeth never expected her to do. Her fingers elongated into talons, her skin turned reptilian green. She grew, _literally _grew. One moment she was two inches shorter than Annabeth, and the next moment, she was ten feet tall.

She wasn't a regular mortal, _that_, Annabeth was sure of.

She was a drakon.

"I'm afraid that if I let you go, Perseus Jackson, you won't get to see my big surprise for you," the drakon said, her voice scaly and deep.

Percy groaned from beside Annabeth. "Gods, I'm tired of surprises."

**A/N: Gods, I totally feel for Percy. He's having a rough day, isn't he? Apparently, Christmas Eve can have lots of surprises! **

**Please read and review guyzz! **


End file.
